Michael Ejercito wrote:

>https://www.reddit.com/r/LockdownSkepticism/comments/1hnwcqv/a_silent_covid_surge_may_hit_the_us_over_the/
>
>
>A ‘silent’ COVID surge may hit the US over the holidays, experts warn —
>here's what that means
>This year's winter COVID-19 wave is off to a late start, and experts
>expect cases to keep rising. Here's what to know.
>
>Christmas shopping with covid mask
>Person wearing mask COVID surgeGetty Images / iStockphoto
>Dec. 23, 2024, 4:09 PM EST / Updated Dec. 27, 2024, 3:30 PM EST /
>Source: TODAY
>By Caroline Kee
>The United States is approaching 2025 with COVID-19 on the rise across
>the country. COVID cases were already starting to tick up before the
>start of the holidays, and large, indoor gatherings are likely to make
>the virus spread even faster, experts say.
>
>Some experts are warning this winter COVID wave, starting later in the
>year than usual, could lead to a "silent" surge in transmission over the
>holidays and into the new year.
>
>
>They're calling it "silent" because the wave follows a long period of
>unusually low COVID activity this fall, so many people are unaware that
>COVID levels have risen sharply over the past two weeks, the most recent
>wastewater surveillance data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
>and Prevention show.
>
>What's more, wastewater viral activity of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that
>causes COVID-19 — is currently “high” or “very high” in 28 states, per
>CDC data for the week ending Dec. 21.
>
>Despite these signs, people may not know their risk of infection is
>increasing or not test if they only have mild symptoms, which can allow
>the virus to spread at holiday events, during travel, and more.
>
>“There’s a good chance that a lot of people are going to get sick in the
>next couple of weeks and be unaware of it. Most people are not tracking
>CDC data, and so their only way of knowing whether we’re in a wave is if
>they’ve gotten sick,” Michael Hoerger, Ph.D., associate professor at
>Tulane University School of Medicine and public health expert on
>tracking COVID-19 trends, tells TODAY.com.
>
>
>While the data do not yet show the U.S. is in a large COVID surge, the
>country is entering its 10th COVID wave since the pandemic started,
>Hoerger adds.
>
>But there's a great deal of uncertainty about how bad this year's winter
>wave will be and how long it will last. “This is a very risky time in
>terms of lots of people interacting indoors, so we don’t really know how
>quickly transmission can pick up,” Hoerger says.
>
>A risk of "silent" transmission over the holidays
>Wastewater levels of COVID-19 are lower than they were at this point
>last winter, but they have risen sharply in recent weeks. And cases will
>likely continue to increase, experts say.
>
>As of Friday, Dec. 26, COVID-19 viral activity levels in wastewater are
>high nationally, per the latest CDC data. The week prior, COVID levels
>were “moderate” nationally. Just three weeks ago, they were considered
>"low."
>
>
>“Nationally, COVID-19 levels in wastewater have been increasing through
>the month of December, following a period of low levels in October and
>November,” Dr. Jonathan Yoder, deputy director of the CDC Division of
>Infectious Disease Readiness and Innovation, tells TODAY.com.
>
>Currently, COVID wastewater levels are highest in the Midwest, data show.
>
>Where COVID is spreading in the U.S.
>National and regional trends of wastewater viral activity levels of
>SARS-COV-2CDC
>The CDC no longer tracks the total number of new COVID cases in the
>U.S., instead estimating transmission levels using wastewater
>surveillance, test positivity and emergency department visits.
>
>COVID test positivity is at 7.5%, up 1.9% from the previous week, per
>the latest CDC data. COVID-related emergency room visits and deaths are
>also increasing slightly.
>
>
>“The issue with this winter’s wave is it’s a lot different than previous
>ones," Hoerger explains. In past years, COVID has followed a similar
>pattern: Cases ramp up in November, increase steadily and peak around
>late December or early January.
>
>This wave is coming on late and “out of nowhere,” Hoerger wrote in a
>post on X on Dec. 16.
>
>“Normally people would have had a month or so of warning by now, seeing
>friends and family getting infected,” Hoerger explains. "Transmission
>was freakishly low for November, and so people are kind of lulled into a
>false sense of security."
>
>COVID-19 levels are ticking up about a month later than usual, which
>puts the country into “uncharted territory," according to Hoerger.
>
>
>“You can think of the start of the wave as kind of a silent transmission
>period where people aren’t really aware of it, and that’s coinciding
>with the start of holiday travel,” he explains.
>
>Hoerger, the director of the Pandemic Mitigation Collective, uses the
>PMC COVID-19 forecasting model, which projects there could be an average
>of 900,000 new daily infections by January. The PMC New Year's Eve
>forecast estimates that, if no one is testing or isolating, there is a 1
>in 4 chance of COVID exposure at a party of 20 and a 1 in 2 chance at a
>party of 40-50.
>
>
>Other experts agree that infections are expected to go up in the coming
>weeks.
>
>"We anticipate that these holiday gatherings and traveling and all that
>will provide opportunities for an increase in COVID, as well as
>(influenza) and RSV,” Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious
>diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells TODAY.com.
>
>
>“It’s silent (transmission) because most of these infections are quite
>mild so people are not testing, or they’re blowing them off as a cold,"
>Schaffner adds.
>
>Recommended
>
>Coronavirus
>What states have the highest COVID rates? Map shows where it's spreading
>as winter approaches
>While this year's late summer COVID surge provided the U.S. population
>with some immunity, it's likely starting to wane, the experts say. And
>the current variants circulating, including XEC and the decedents of the
>FLiRT family, are highly transmissible.
>
>"These current variants are causing a lot of milder infections, which
>are going largely undetected," says Schaffner, adding that people with
>mild or no symptoms can still spread the virus to others.
>
>"The communicability of these viruses is contributing to a silent
>epidemic, if you will," he says.
>
>Where COVID is spreading in the U.S.
>Where COVID is spreading in the U.S.
>Current wastewater viral activity level of SARS-CoV-2 by state in the
>U.S.CDC
>As of Dec. 21, wastewater viral activity of COVID is currently "very
>high" in 14 states, according to the latest CDC data. These are:
>
>
>Arizona
>Kentucky
>Massachusetts
>Minnesota
>Missouri
>Montana
>Nebraska
>New Hampshire
>New Mexico
>Oklahoma
>Oregon
>Pennsylvania
>South Dakota
>Wyoming
>As of Dec. 21, COVID wastewater levels are "high" in 14 states:
>
>Arkansas
>Connecticut
>Delaware
>Idaho
>Indiana
>Iowa
>Kansas
>Maine
>Michigan
>Ohio
>Rhode Island
>South Carolina
>Utah
>Wisconsin
>“If you see increased COVID-19 wastewater viral activity levels in your
>area, it might indicate that there is a higher risk of infection,” says
>Yoder.
>
>
>However, regional variation in wastewater data also depend on the number
>and specific location of wastewater surveillance sites that are
>monitoring, says Hoerger. Some states have no data, and others only have
>limited coverage. “Take regional variation with a grain of salt,” he adds.
>
>Overall, decreases in testing and lags in reporting can make it
>challenging to accurately track COVID-19 levels, the experts note.
>
>COVID-19 symptoms in 2024
>The symptoms caused by the dominant variants circulating, XEC and
>KP.3.1.1, are very similar to those caused by previous omicron
>subvariants, according to experts.
>
>
>Common COVID-19 symptoms include:
>
>Sore throat
>Congestion
>Runny nose
>Cough
>Fatigue
>Headache and body aches
>Fever or chills
>Shortness of breath
>Nausea or loss of appetite
>Diarrhea
>Loss of sense of taste or smell
>Symptoms will vary from person to person. Even milder infections can be
>"debilitating" for several days, says Schaffner.
>
>Although the latest COVID-19 variants appear to be causing milder
>disease, they can still cause severe illness requiring hospitalization.
>Certain people are at higher risk of developing severe disease. These
>include people over the age of 65, people with underlying medical
>conditions and people who are immunocompromised.
>
>
>Every time a person is infected with COVID, they are at risk of
>developing long COVID, which can cause symptoms that persist and
>reemerge for weeks or months after infection, per the CDC.
>
>Are new COVID boosters effective?
>The updated COVID-19 vaccine for 2024–2025 is recommended by the CDC for
>everyone ages 6 months and older.
>
>The new mRNA COVID vaccine is monovalent, which means it targets one
>variant — in this case, the KP.2 "FLiRT" variant. The strains currently
>circulating are closely related to KP.2, and the new booster should
>provide good protection, TODAY.com previously reported.
>
>However, uptake of the new vaccine has been low so far — just 21% of
>adults in the U.S. have gotten the shot, per the latest CDC data.
>
>
>“The best protection is to get vaccinated. Although vaccinated people
>sometimes get infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, staying up
>to date on COVID-19 vaccines significantly lowers the risk of getting
>very sick, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19," says Yoder.
>
>How to protect yourself against COVID-19
>When COVID-19 levels are rising, it's important for people to take steps
>to protect themselves and their families, according to the CDC.
>
>You can take the following actions to avoid infection and prevent
>spreading COVID-19 to others:
>
>Stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations.
>Test if you have symptoms or an exposure.
>Stay home when sick.
>Seek treatment for COVID-19 if you are at high risk.
>Wear a mask.
>Practice social distancing.

In the interim, we are 100% prepared/protected in the "full armor of
GOD" (Ephesians 6:11) which we put on as soon as we use Apostle Paul's
secret (Philippians 4:12). Though masking is less protective, it helps
us avoid the appearance of doing the evil of spreading airborne
pathogens while there are people getting sick because of not being
100% protected. It is written that we're to "abstain from **all**
appearance of doing evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:22 w/**emphasis**).

Meanwhile, the only *perfect* (Matt 5:47-8 ) way to eradicate the
COVID-19 virus, thereby saving lives, in the UK & elsewhere is by
rapidly (i.e. use the "Rapid COVID-19 Test" ) finding out at any given
moment, including even while on-line, who among us are unwittingly
contagious (i.e pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic) in order to
"convince it forward" (John 15:12) for them to call their doctor and
self-quarantine per their doctor in hopes of stopping this pandemic.
Thus, we're hoping for the best while preparing for the worse-case
scenario of the Alpha lineage mutations and others like the Omicron,
Gamma, Beta, Epsilon, Iota, Lambda, Mu & Delta lineage mutations
combining via slip-RNA-replication to form hybrids like "Deltamicron"
that may render current COVID vaccines/monoclonals/medicines/pills no
longer effective.

Indeed, I am wonderfully hungry (
https://groups.google.com/g/sci.med.cardiology/c/6ZoE95d-VKc/m/14vVZoyOBgAJ
) and hope you, Michael, also have a healthy appetite too.

So how are you ?